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Bru Medishetty's SeekWell Blogs
What components do I need in SQL Server ?
Feb 4th
I was asked the following questions by many people personally and see this appear over forums repeatedly.
When I install an additional instance of SQL Server on the same machine, what options do I need to select ? What components need to be installed to use basic SQL Server while learning (well sometimes at the job also).
Well it always depends on what one needs on his/her system that decides what needs to be installed. I would make a general assumptions and give the suggestions.
A user can choose to install multiple instances of SQL Server on a single machine, but every instance need not have all the components installed. For example when the first instance was installed only database Engine was chosen since there was no necessity for the Analysis and Reporting Servers at that point. When the need for either of these arises, an additional instance can be installed and only that component can be selected to install, choosing Database Engine is not mandatory here.
Similarly when installing Database engine, Replication and Full Text Indexing are not mandatory, you need to choose them only if you need.
And then finally there are somethings that are Instance aware and Instance unaware. Let me explain that..
Instance aware components are those that can be installed with each instance on the machine and are independent from the other instance, such as Database Engine, Reporting Server and Analysis Server. An instance of a database engine can run while another instance is stopped, in that way they are independent.
Instance unaware are those which can be installed only once per a machine and cannot be installed additionally along with a new instance, such as Integration Services, SQL Server Browser, Books Online, Management Studio, BIDS and client components etc. When these options are chosen to be installed with a newer instance, you are give with a message that they will not be installed and the Installation process moves forward..
One additional point, it is possible to have multiple versions of SQL Servers running concurrently on the same machine.
Certification Exam – Second Shot Free offer is back !
Jan 28th
One of the popular offers I always liked while pursuing a Microsoft Certification is once again back. The second shot offer gives the candidate an opportunity to have a second shot of the same exam at no additional cost (if the candidate could not successfully pass in the first attempt).
I am planning to take the MCITP : Database Developer 2008 exam and hope to use this offer as it gives me a cushion (If I cannot successfully pass at the first instance).. So I am rushing for a coupon…, remember the coupons are available for a limited time only. The offer is valid up to June 30, 2010. for more information visit promteric web site Here or Microsoft website Here
Download SQL Server Sample Databases
Jan 24th
When working with SQL Server most of the times the example queries that are provided in articles are based on the sample databases available in SQL Server 2005 / 2008.
If you have missed installing the Sample Databases when installing SQL Server, all you need to do is download the sample databases that are available at Microsoft Codeplex Website. There are databases available for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008.
You can additionally look at the one of my articles to Install a sample Database in SQL Server 2005
– Bru Medishetty
Performing SSAS Database Backup
Jan 23rd
In this article you will learn the steps to backup a SQL Server Analysis Server Database.
After logging to the Analysis Services, in the object explorer, select the database that needs to be backed up. Right click the database and from the pop-up menu choose Backup.
Backup database dialog is displayed which is similar to many windows based dialog boxes. It displays the database that we are going to backup. In the text box against backup file, type in the filename that you intend to place the backup in. The backup file extension for an SSAS database is by default “.abf” (which in my opinion stands for Analysis Services Backup file (or format). There are some options to choose from if required. Options such as Allow file overwrite will overwrite the existing file (if there exists a file with the same name at the same location). You can additionally compress the backup file while reduces the backup file size and protect the backup file by providing a password. That password needs to be given while restoring a database from the same backup file.
Click OK to continue to backup the database.
The backup is performed and the screen similar to the one shown below is displayed as long as the database backup is being performed. The Progress section of the dialog (left bottom of the dialog box) displays Executing.
Note that after the backup is done successfully, it does not display a message box about the successful completion of the backup. You need to check for the existence of the backup file at the destination location.
– Bru Medishetty
Concatenating Strings to NULL values
Jan 19th
We recently ran into this situation of reports containing nothing but blank spaces. When investigated the reason was that the String concatenation statement was written as a general statement. There is nothing wrong in the statement, it works fine when the variables have a value but does not work when one of the variables is NULL.
The “SELECT @FinalString” statement returns NULL since the variable @String1 is NULL. When such a variable is concatenated with other set of variables or string values it would all result in NULL and the string message(s) that is to be used will not return the desired output (resulting in blank spaces in reports in one of our case).
In order to overcome such issues, the ISNULL function can be used which checks the value and replaces with the value to be replaced if NULL is found. The same statement is rewritten and ISNULL is implemented to check for NULL values in @String1 variable, if @String1 is NULL, then ‘EMPTY STRING1′ is included in the final string and results in a meaningful string value instead of NULL.
Note that the appropriate statement would also include ISNULL(@String2,’EMPTY STRING2′), it has been avoided in the example to emphasize its importance at the @String1..
For more information on ISNULL look at Books Online link here
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